NPS photo There was a legend of birds hatching from the shells of barnacles. These birds were called the brant geese. Brants are mostly North American birds that range through Canada and Alaska in the summer. In the winter they come down to the U.S. and there are usually a lot of them at the wildlife refuge. This bird is the cousin of the Canada goose but with a shorter neck and smaller body. Brant geese lay 3-5 white eggs. The male brant stays with the female for life. Brant geese are still here at the refuge and haven't migrated north yet. I like the brant because when it's on the beach you can tell what you are looking at since it is so much different from the other geese, with its black neck and chest and its small size. When I was out taking the pictures of the brant I made a comparison to the Canada geese noticing the differences between them. Even though they don't look like barnacles they are still really beautiful. |
Last updated: February 26, 2015